


Adrift

by HannaVictoria



Series: For What it's Worth [2]
Category: inFAMOUS (Video Games), inFAMOUS: Second Son
Genre: Feels, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 16:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5423603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannaVictoria/pseuds/HannaVictoria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reggie lived and rather than go help Del and probably get in the way again he's gone home. Now what? Fair question. Wait for him mostly? Reggie realizes he isn't the man who last left the Longhouse anymore than Delsin and now he has a chance to actually consider what that means. Also worry about Delsin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adrift

Once Reggie reached the Longhouse he kind of lost all steam. Once all the urgency was truly gone he had a pile of very serious and personal questions of self-identity to sort through. For now he had a job to do. “Holy Shit!” Deputy Barton looked like he’d seen a ghost “I take it you’ve been informed of my “death”?” the deputy nodded dumbly “Great! Let’s keep it that way at least until Delsin gets back. Now I’m going to shower and you’re going to start some coffee and then you’re gonna tell me the damage.” One of the buildings just off the Longhouse doubled as the local precinct. Luckily that meant he could stop wearing some strangers clothes. Empting the pockets he came across the lawyers business card slipping it into his change of clothes. His thoughts were now of home ‘Please let no one have died while we were gone.’ Once he was clean he absorbed all he could from the spray ‘Just cause I have no clue what I’m doing doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be prepared for anything. Lord knows it’s been finding us lately.’   
He followed the sounds of the television finding his Deputy glued to the TV. He turned it up “Again for those just tuning in the DUPs Emergency Powers have been lifted and we don’t expect they’ll be getting them back. Now we get to tell you what we couldn’t before. As most residents of Seattle could tell you they have been living in fear not of the bioterrorists indeed the conduits, but of the DUP. The organization has been using its special status to imprison people with out a warrant on the say so of often-faulty equipment. Used their legal authority over we the media to misinform and progandize the general public. Our “Mad Bioterrorist Sniper” has been “snipping” at illegal drug shipment. Our “kidnapper” has been rescuing suspected conduits from DUP custody. Indeed for all the talk we’ve heard over the years about body counts all the conduits active in the city of Seattle seem to subdue and restrain there attackers with a precision and frequency that frankly calls into question everything we have been told up to now.”   
He snatched the remote and muted it as a picture of him flashed on the screen with his date of birth and alleged death. Jim Barton looked at him with askance and Reggie turned off the television. “So what on earth happened? Cause I love Del to pieces, but they’re acting like he’s the Second Coming!” Reggie smiled “I think they’re trying for a very punk rock Martin Luther King and just getting a little too caught up in their own hyperbole.” Jim just looked at him “No really?” he laughed “Yes. Really. It’s the same on the streets I’m not kidding. People are seriously starting to debate a place for conduits in normal society and Delsin’s Superman routine has kind of put him front and center.” He cringed “We’re going to get so swamped with reporters. Pity more of us can’t go through people. We’re going to need to call County. We’ll be outnumbered even if the major networks only send a single person each!” he looked at Barton “How do you think the Tribe is going to handle becoming some kind of Conduit Mecca? I mean Delsin is one thing.” ‘Never mind Gene and Fetch will probably be here a lot. And me.’ Still hadn’t figured out how to broach that subject.  
“You going to explain this miraculous resurrection of yours?” Apparently he was out of time to figure out how to say it “I honestly have no idea. I hit the water and the next thing I know I’m in the hospital. Which reminds me I skipped out we need to reclaim my stuff.” Jim gave him another look “Who is we?” the sheriff took another sip of his coffee “I am completely content to stay in limbo till Delsin gets back. Not like he’s going to drag his feet with everyone counting on him.” Jim smiled at that last part he was still frustrated, but he smiled “Safe to assume from your description he has no idea you lived?” Reg had the decency to look sheepish “I assume. I didn’t really have a chance to ask. It was all getting very “It ends here” and I am a sheriff. I am there for when Ms. Woollcott forgets her license has been revoked for longer than I have been alive. Or when someone is trying to smuggle steaks out of the grocery store in their pants, again.” He shrugged “enforcing traffic laws and subduing the occasional drunk/high person is really all the excitement I need.”  
“And the thing your not telling me would be?” In small towns you everyone knows your name. Everyone says it, but to a large degree it’s true. He and Jim had gone to school together all be it separated by the at the time yawning chasm of two years. Police work had however filled that gap rather quickly and now Jim was one of the first people to know when Reggie was full of it. “Yeah~ I’m a Conduit.” He just kind of shrugged because what more was there to say. Perhaps it was that offhand and yet bewildered tone, but regardless the deputy keeled over laughing near immediately “Seriously?” Reggie conjured up some water around his wrist for confirmation “Holy balls man! That’s just… kind of awesome.” “Please, please don’t turn into Delsin on me.” Deputy Barton pulled himself off the floor “You know that’s what he’s going to do right?” he paused to get back in his chair “So Conduits? How do those work?” ‘Might as well practice I get the feeling I’m going to be doing this for the rest of my life.’ He couldn’t bring himself to be mad. He preferred questions to gunshots any day “Well if I’m anything like any other conduit I’ve ever come across getting shot just became a non-issue.” He began to relay everything he’d been able to glean over the course of his adventure and not a few ‘war stories’ to the rapt attention of his deputy. When he was finished Barton asked with a look that promised ‘I’ll get the embarrassing versions of those stories from Del later.’ “So what’s going to happen when Delsin give you that inevitable flying tackle hug?” Reggie cursed.  
“Betty!” and with that they were out of time. Barton had mercifully led the way only to find that Delsin had long since bowled past the entrance on his way to Betty. Fetch and Eugene however were hanging back and more than a little surprised to see a dead man “The hell?” Fetch asked. Reggie shrugged “Wifi password is on the bottom of the rotary phone out front. Kitchen’s that way. There’s a plasma screen over that way if you… need some space.” Eugene looked a little touched at the suggestion. Barton dragged him bodily away from his stalling tactic. “Dead? But Sweetheart I overheard him just a minute ago.” Upon hearing this Jim stopped dragging Reggie and Reggie started dragging Jim. ‘No way and hell I’m putting Betty through this. Bad enough it happened to Del… or that I let it go on this long!’ “Um, hi.” was all he could muster. Delsin’s flying tackle was immediately intercepted by Jim “Wow! Hi there!” as if the cheery proclamations made it less awkward that he was essentially hugging Delsin. “Explain!” the conduit exclaimed. “Uh, first things first maybe?” he gestured to the daggers sticking out of everyone save Betty, Jim, and all present conduits.  
While Delsin healed the tribe Reggie went outside and began trying to work his water when heard the familiar sound of a neon run “Been doing that long?” Abigail. He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or not “Since I woke up.” She smiled big “Can’t really help you. With the powers or the brother. It’s different for everyone and well… as soon as I knew so did Brent.” She walked away not before calling over her shoulder “You know how lucky you are, right?” Reggie drew in his water and turned to her “I know.” He didn’t think she meant something as simple as his close call either. He was so lucky. That he was alive. That most everyone who ever mattered to him would without a doubt accept him as readily as they had his brother. That he gained these abilities in a world where he was unlikely to be unlawfully imprisoned for existing. Most of all he thought back to the day the three conduits broke loose in front of them. Delsin was so scared. Reggie’d never seen him like that and he never wanted to again, but that was what finding out you’re a conduit did to people. Or what did to people back then. Only a week ago his brother had sobbed out “I’m one of them.” Like his whole world was crumbling, like he was crumbling. He’d recovered quickly or at least pretended to. Saving Fetch and Eugene now that had helped. Del had got it into his head that conduits were human beings that having these powers meant they owed it to the rest to be the best they could be. It was one thing to talk about it, but seeing it was something else. The proof seemed to change so much for Delsin and for Reggie. It didn’t escape that when they’d started out he’d even been calling Delsin a “bioterrorist” if only indirectly, but by the time he’d gone into the water that word had become the stuff of jokes and sarcastic remarks. They say a politically correct vocabulary doesn’t make a tolerant man, but he was fairly certain he’d have been singing an entirely different tune if he’d suddenly woken up absorbing pitchers of water a week ago. ‘Funny what the knowledge you aren’t going to go violently insane can do.’  
“Hey Reg?” his brother called out. ‘Now or never.’ Delsin sat down next to his brother “Is there a reason I’m not touching you?” he sounded a little hurt. Reggie tried to sound blasé about it “Oh you know, we’re pretty busy. Kinda wouldn’t do to be passed out on the floor. Sort of seems like a faux paus to pull something like that without asking. Can you control that or maybe even some gloves?” Delsin looked confused, disbelieving like he was sure he was being pranked. He seemed a bit hurt as well “But that doesn’t work on… Reg I’ve been touching you all the time since I got my powers?” Reggie shrugged “So where the hell were you? You’ve been dead three days?” that seemed to bring Reggie out of his shell of indifference and straight back to remorseful ‘I hadn’t realized it had been that long.’ “I… woke up about a day ago. I don’t know what to tell you,” he summoned up the water and Delsin’s mouth dropped open “I don’t remember anything after I hit the water, but I knew that whatever hurt it gave you Augustine knowing I was alive would only make things worse.” Delsin stared at the water “So~ can you do anything with that?” Reggie gave him a look “I’m not asking cause of that! I’m actually a little curious what it would be like, developing powers in a less “high stress” situation.” The oldest scoffed “High Stress? Yes it was very relaxing waking up with no clue when the DUP might come charging in, trying to come up with an escape plan not just from the hospital, but from Seattle. And I lost my wallet!” Delsin laughed “Yeah, about three feet from where you dropped.” low and behold it was his wallet and badge; his money was even still there. “Again, did you do anything cool?” Reggie sighed moving closer, but still not touching his brother ‘We gotta figure out what to do about that.’   
“Well if by cool you mean pulling “Finding Nemo” to escape my hospital room.” Delsin didn’t get which reference he’s trying to make “turns out some drains lead to the laundry room.” Excited Delsin grabbed Reggie without thinking “Dude that is awesome!” realizing what he’d done Delsin let go “guess it doesn’t work through shirts?” he couldn’t really recall, Eugene in particular was just very covered in general, had he maybe caught the younger man’s fingers? “It was pretty easy after that kept my head down and let the power of acting inconspicuous do the rest.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know a lot of folks hate OCs but I don't think second son had ten characters all told... I stand corrected if you count Zeke and the Reporter guy with the fish stickers it's a solid ten. I rest my case. Re-read the news report as a real news caster. I prefer a very disgruntled Wolf Blitzer or perhaps Anderson Cooper standing next to some rubble in one of his black tee-shirts.
> 
> Pants-meat theft is a real thing. Binge these two they make a living on a webshow about shenanigans crime: http://radiodeadair.com/category/videos/wtfiwwy-live/  
> ^It's not fully Work Safe but it isn't what you'd call vulgar and no one gets hurt.


End file.
